Archive for February, 2017

The ECF’s Team Challenge, is now in its 4th year and a qualifying event attracting 14 teams was held recently at Torquay Boys’ Grammar School .

The competition, for secondary school teams of 4 players, involves 4 rounds with each player having 12 minutes per game. Five schools sent teams to this year’s event, but the hosts entered 6 teams to increase the competition. The competition was organised by Tim Onions and Trefor Thynne who are in charge of chess at the Grammar School. Last year TBGS was awarded the title of Chess Leadership School by the ECF in recognition of its efforts to promote chess in other south-west schools.

The winners, who qualify for the national finals to be held in London on 29th March, and the two teams finishing 2nd= were presented with medals.

Bristol’s Spring Congress is taking place this weekend at Bristol Grammar School, while the E. Devon Congress will take place on 10th – 12th March in Exeter. Tim Paulden has taken over as Secretary of the event and has set up a new website for it, where one can both enter and pay on-line. His energy seems to be getting results as the top section is attracting some strong players. Local Grandmaster Keith Arkell has signed up, as has Austrian master player Walter Braun. More surprising, perhaps, is the entry of John Nunn, formerly in the world’s Top 10, and something of a legend in chess circles. He has a GM title for playing and another for problem solving, not to mention an academic doctorate – a true polymath. World Champion Magnus Carlsen once explained why he thought extreme intelligence could actually prove to be a hindrance to one’s chess career, and cited as an example Nunn’s never having won the World Championship. He said “He has so incredibly much in his head. Simply too much. His enormous powers of understanding and his constant thirst for knowledge distracted him from chess”.

This would not be Nunn’s first appearance in Exeter, however, – he played in 1979, when he came 1st, ahead of Rumens, Plaskett, Blackstock, Franklin & Sowray.

The British Problem Solving Championship took place last weekend at Eton College, where the winners are usually either Nunn or Jonathan Mestel. This year, however, they were pushed down to 2nd & 3rd by a relative newcomer, Ian Watson of Durham. David Hodge, formerly of Exminster and Torquay BGS, came 5th while Jon Lawrence of Torquay came 17th.

This was the 1st of their problems, a 2-mover with c. 6 minutes allowed for solving.

The Cornish Championships were held at Carnon Downs at the weekend. The defending champion, James Hooker (Camborne) again kept a cool head under pressure and retained his title with 3½/5 points, while close on his heels were Robin Kneebone (Carrick), Gary Trudeau (Liskeard), Colin Sellwood (Camborne) and Mark Watkins (Penwith)

The Falmouth Cup for those graded U-146 was won by the relative newcomer, Jan Rodrigo (Penwith) with 4½, followed by Harvey Richings (Penwith) and Martin Jones (Newquay).

The U-120 grading prize was won by Anton Barkhuysen (Camborne), and the U-100 prize was won by John James (Penwith), while Thomas Oates’ performance (Camborne) was judged the best by a junior.

Here is James Hooker’s Rd. 2 game with notes kindly supplied by the winner.

White: C. Sellwood. Black: J. Hooker. Sicilian Defence [B40]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb46.Bd3 Nc6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.0–0 White should have played e5 here to stifle Black’s e5 and d5 idea and to make the d3 bishop better. 8…e5 The wasted tempo with e6 earlier and now e5 means little as White’s bishop on d3 is now restricted, and Black is looking for a strong centre with a future d5 push. 9.Qf3 0–0 10.Qg3 Re8 11.Bd2 d5 12.exd5 cxd5 13.Bg5 Creates a threat of trading and grabbing the d5 pawn, but lost a tempo by playing Bd2 previously. 13…Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qd6 15.Be2? The decisive error, allowing Ne4 as it’s not pinned anymore and leaving the bishop on g5 very few squares. 15…Ne4 16.Qe3 f5 17.Rfd1 Defending with tricks, f4 will be met with Qxe4. 17…Qc6 18.Bh4 White’s best shot now is 18 Bh5 g6, 19 Bf3. The point being to get Black to play g6 so he doesn’t have the h6 and g5 idea trapping the bishop. 18…f4 19.Qd3 Nxc3 20.Re1 Nxe2+ 21.Rxe2 If 21 Qxe2 then Qh6 and White’s bishop on h4 is lost 21…Ba6 0–1

The key move to last week’s problem by Dave Howard was 1.Qa4! after which all Black’s ‘tries’ fail.

This week’s 2-mover is by the Cornish problemist, Dr. Maurice Edwin McDowell Jago (1902-‘98). He was born in St. Buryan, where his father, Ashley Tilsed, was also a GP.

Simon Bartlett’s funeral was held yesterday (08.02.2017.) and his great friend, Ivor Annetts, has compiled these facts and memories of Simon, and invited anyone to make use of them.

He writes as follows:

Simon was born, brought up and educated, in Paignton. He attended a boys’ school and did extremely well, gaining admittance to Bristol University to read law. After a time he decided that this was not for him, and he took a year off in Morocco. He then returned to Bristol University to read chemistry and was awarded a degree in that subject. Apart from a brief period with another company, the whole of his working life was spent with a chemical company in Cornwall called Key Organics. At its peak, Simon led a team of seven researchers. Their task was to produce organic chemical compounds with particular properties as requested by the company’s customers. During the 90s, China began to be able to do this much more cheaply and this led to Simon eventually being the sole researcher for Key Organics. He told me on more than one occasion that he still got a kick out of doing his job. Simon eventually retired at the age of 58 and gave every indication that he was thoroughly enjoying his new life.

I first met Simon around 28 years ago at Tor Abbey. It was a unique chess occasion, as the West of England Championship was held at that prestigious venue. Brian Boomsma was also a competitor and he and Simon were already friends. Years later Simon was to become the godfather of Brian’s new son. At Tor Abbey, Brian introduced me to this 35 years old confident upstart, then graded at something like 125, and over the next few years the three of us, all very different from each other, became close friends.

During the chess year we would enter anything up to half a dozen or more congresses across the west country. It became traditional for the three of us, frequently joined by Brian’s partner Lynda, to meet up for an Indian meal on the Saturday night. Fueled by too many bottles of house red, the conversation would flow, arguments would sometimes be intense, and occasionally when Brian and I took opposing views, Simon would remain the calm, objective and rational one. And now I realize that throughout all of the intervening years, I have never seen Simon angry or, apart from his final few months, emotionally disturbed in any way.

He was tremendously well-read, retained facts, and had a lively enquiring mind. He was particularly knowledgeable on economics, his partner, Margaret having a degree in that subject. I well remember his scary, penetrating analysis at the time of the financial crisis in 2008.

Ten years or so ago we discovered that we both had had experiences with the game of bridge, with Simon’s being rather more than an experience as he played regularly in a Camelford club. We arranged to partner each other once per week as members of an online bridge club. I vaguely remembered elements of the Acol and Blackwood bidding systems; Simon knew them inside out and tempted me towards something called a Precision Club(?) system. He was also, to my eyes, extremely skilled at playing the cards. After a time, this, with chess, was too much for me and so I pulled the plug on our bridge soirees. Simon, true to his character, showed no concern at my decision. It is extremely possible that he was secretly relieved at not having to continue to carry the burden of teaching a novice. If so, he showed no sign of it.

I am also indebted to him for sharing his chess opening expertise with me. Following explanations from Simon, I did at various times experiment with the Sveshnikov Sicilian – Simon insisting on calling it the Pelikan – the Grunfeld and the French Wing Gambit. It soon became clear that Simon’s occasionally risky, tactical play was not consistent with my attempted cautious positional style. I well remember him saying,

“The point about chess is that you are trying to have fun!”

Another Simon quote I remember is,

“People are passionate about all kinds of things throughout their lives. With me it’s chess.”

Such was his passion for the game that some years ago he joined Tiverton Chess Club in order to strengthen the club’s team in Devon County team competitions. At week-ends he would regularly play for Tiverton in the Bremridge (Div 1), Mamhead (Div 2) and the Rooke Cup. On occasion he accepted my invitation to play in midweek Exeter & District League matches. Every single game he played for Tiverton involved him in a 150 mile round trip from his home in Camelford. For DCCA week-end home matches he would lunch with me and my partner, Yvonne, in Tiverton. There were never any quiet moments during those lunches. I came to believe that Simon possessed a restless mind; always thinking, always enquiring; always ready to discuss. Yvonne tells me of how he was always able to answer her scientific queries and how he always replied to her enquiring emails accurately and concisely.

Shortly after the diagnosis of his condition, I stayed with him and Margaret overnight in Camelford and experienced the overwhelming attention of his Great Dane, Boris, and his Irish Wolf Hound, Maeve. The contentment of Simon and Margaret, with their dogs and Margaret’s horses was clear. He had often spoken to me of his joy in walking the dogs in the surrounding countryside. Quite recently a fashion magazine had been shooting in the Camelford area and the photographer decided that he needed an Irish Wolf Hound to stand next to one of his wiry female models. Enquiries led to Simon and Margaret’s door and I well remember the pleasure shown by Simon next time I saw him. It wasn’t just the handsome fee that Maeve had earned for him. He showed me the magazine, and the pride at having Maeve gracing the pages of an upmarket fashion mag. was clear to see.

On an earlier occasion he had found his dogs useful in a different way. Noisy neighbours had moved in next door and repeated requests for the music to be turned down had had no effect. A visit to the offenders with Boris and Maeve did the trick!

I have received many tributes to Simon from chess players across the West Country and beyond. I end with one of them from Brendan O’Gorman, photographer for the ECF:

“Dreadful news but thanks for letting me know. I liked Simon. He had a sense of humour and, beyond the chess board, was smarter than your average chess player.

The current Devon Champions, Exmouth, hosted local rivals, Exeter, in a match on Saturday that would not only confer local bragging rights but probably determine who would win this year’s Devon club championship.

The omens were not good for the hosts, as Exeter were able to field their strongest team, probably one of the strongest sides seen for many a decade, while Exmouth were under par, conceding c. 16 points per board over Bds 3 – 6 – a big ask. However, the match proved to be a truly titanic struggle as each game came to an end.

First of all, Exeter’s captain, Graham Bolt, won the toss yet chose to give their opponents White on top board. That was the first to finish, when O’Neill came unstuck and resigned, and put Exmouth 1-0 up. Was Bolt’s tactic a wise one? Next, Chris Scott got a valuable draw against Jamie Morgan, playing his first game for Exeter. Then, Oliver Wensley generated enough pressure to cause his opponent to run out of time.

Thus Exmouth had 2.5 point after 3 games, and it seemed highly possible they would be able to get something from the other 3 games to squeeze at least a draw. Then Dave Regis, who had 2 minor pieces for a rook, forced a win, while Bolt found himself in an ending with 2 bishops against 2 knights with a sprinkling of pawns on either side. The bishops found good long diagonals enabling his king to advance, keeping the black knights and king on their back rank, and a win was inevitable. 2.5 all, with former Scottish International, Paul Hampton, locking horns with Paulden, in what for the most part had been a blocked position. However, in seeking active play for his queen, he allowed Regis’ queen in to the centre. With just 2 minutes of extra time left on both clocks, there was a titanic struggle with both queens grabbing any pawn they could get hold of, preferably with check, and Paulden succeeded in this race.

So, with just seconds to go, Exeter took the lead for the first time in the match, and with it the match.

The Cornish County Championship and Congress is currently taking place at Carnon Downs Village Hall and will finish tomorrow tea time. Results here next week.

February being a short month and the Exeter Congress traditionally taking place in early March means that this event is rapidly approaching. It takes place at its usual venue, the Corn Hall on the weekend starting Friday 10th March, i.e. 3 weeks on Friday. Dr. Tim Paulden has taken on the role of Congress Secretary and has constructed a special website for it, with enhanced features, like on-line payment of entry fees. It’s well worth a look, at eastdevonchesscongress.com.

This game was played in a Devon league match at the weekend and illustrates several old sayings about rook and pawn endings. They are a game in themselves, full of subtle nuances that elude even grandmasters at times. Probably the most accessible introduction is still Capablanca’s 1921 book, Chess Fundamentals, which is quoted.

White: O. E. Wensley (168). Black: A. W. Brusey (166).

Petroff Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bb4 5.d3 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Qxf3 12.gxf3 Nd4 13.Bxd4 exd4 After this early carnage they are already down to a rook ending, with White having the disadvantage of doubled pawns. 14.Rg1 With all immediate danger past, there’s little point in White castling, as the king will need to be in the centre as an active piece. “The best way to defend such positions is to assume the initiative and keep the opponent on the defensive”. 14…0–0 15.Kd2 Rfe8 16.Rae1 The open e-file must be contested. 16…f5 17.f4 Kf7 18.Re5 g6 19.h4 Rad8 20.Rge1 b6 21.b4 c6 22.a4 Rxe5 23.fxe5 Rd5 24.f4 a6 25.Rb1 h6 26.c4 dxc3+ 27.Kxc3 g5 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.d4! 29.fxg5 Rxe5 would create too much space for Black’s rook. 29…gxf4 30.Kc4 Kg6 31.Rg1+ Kh5 There is now a lot of move-counting to do by both sides. 32.e6 Rd8 33.a5 Creating a path for White’s king to advance later. The decisive difference here is that White’s king can both attack and defend whereas Black’s can only defend.33…bxa5 34.bxa5 f3 35.Rg3 f4 If 35…f2 36.Rf3. 36.Rxf3 Kg4 The rest of the game has similarities with last week’s ending. 37.Rf1 f3 38.Kc5 Kg3 “Advance the pawn that has no pawn opposing it”, so…39.e7! Re8 40.Kd6 Kg2 41.Rc1 f2 42.Kd7 Ra8 43.e8=Q Rxe8 If 43…f1=Q?? 44.Qg6+ Kf2 45.Qf5+ Ke2 46.Qxf1+ etc. 44.Kxe8 f1=Q 45.Rxf1 Kxf1 46.Kd7 1-0 Black will lose his c-pawn and White can easily shepherd his extra pawn forward.

In last week’s position, Anand won immediately with RxB+ removing the White queen’s only defender, and the fact that it’s check means that Topalov must give up his queen.

Here is a new 2-mover by David Howard. Black has plenty of material available to move around and ward off all threats… except one. What is that key move?

He was born in Tenbury Wells, on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border, and in his youth played in goal for the local football team. He entered the retail business which took him to East Anglia for a spell, before becoming General Manager of Beatties in Wolverhampton, one of the biggest department stores in the West Midlands.

Retirement took him to Newton Poppleford, where he joined the Sidmouth Chess Club, later moving to Exmouth. Although dementia took its toll and he was unable to cope with club life, he maintained contact through near neighburs Fred Hodge and Malcolm Belt, who played chess with him at his home. He had a chess computer on the go in every room of his house. He was a steady player right to the end, with a strong defence that could be difficult to break down.

Having lost one member, we get another in his place. Dave Adams has returned to Exmouth after a spell in Dunbar, on the coast near Edinburgh. Having just moved in to a house in Halsdon Road, he will shortly be treading the relatively short walk to the Club. Short for him, who has walked the Andes from South to North, plus many other paths around the world, playing chess with any other aficianado he might meet on the way. His current grade being, as it ever was, in the mid-130s, he will be a welcome asset to team captains, as the club is short of players of that strength.

Exmouth hosted a team from Newton Abbot for their match in Devon’s 2nd Division, the Mamhead Cup. Losses by Chris Scott and Malcolm Belt were off-set by a well-judged win by team captain, Oliver Wensley, against the highly-experienced Alan Brusey. Alan’s chess has suffered in recent years during a period of ill-health, but he is now back to something like his best. Both players aimed to keep things simple by sweeping almost everything off the board and getting down to a rooks & pawn ending by move 13. However, there is nothing simple about rook & pawn endings; even GMs are prone to errors at this stage of the game, but Oliver judged all the nuances very well and came out the winner.

This left the onus on Meyrick Shaw to try for a win in order the rescue a draw. This involved a 63 move game against an opponent who has, in past matches against Exmouth, proved a cool and resourceful player. However, Meyrick kept the pressure and and eventually ran out the winner.

The semi-final of Devon’s team knock-out tournament, the Rooke Cup, took place on Saturday between Newton Abbot and Exeter. It’s for teams of 8 players whose combined grades must add up to less than 1,120 – an average of 140 per person. This presents captains with a team selection dilemma; should they field a low-graded player on bottom board to enable them to incorporate several stronger players higher up the order (Plan A)? Alternatively, they could put a very strong player on top board, almost certain to win, in the hope that the others can at least hold their own (Plan B). In this case, Newton Abbot chose the former course, while Exeter went for the latter. So how did that work out?

The outcome was a win for Newton Abbot by 4½-3½, the details being as follows: (Exeter names 1st in each pairing).

Newton Abbot’s sacrificial lamb was new member Kashap, a 50-something Anglo-Indian and not very experienced at this kind of thing. He was fully expected to lose, and when after 45 minutes he had lost a piece, yet still continued to exchange off material, this seemed a certainty. But his opponent made a crucial slip in the ending and allowed Prabhu to queen a pawn and win not only his game but the match as well. Chess can be a funny old game.